U.S. Codex News—Friday, August 9, 2013

Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) announced the establishment (or re-establishment) of 2 electronic working groups:

Deoxyynivalenol (DON) Maximum Limits (MLs): Canada invites Codex members to participate in an eWG on the Possible Extension of the Proposed DON MLs to DON’s Acetylated Derivatives. The working group will be co-chaired by Japan, and will prepare a discussion paper and proposals for consideration by the CCCF at its 8th (2014) Session. Codex Members and Observers interested in participating in this eWG should provide the following: participant’s name, participant’s official title or position, the name of the country or observer organization and email address to the U.S. Codex Office @ (uscodex@fsis.usda.gov) not later than August 20, 2013.

CALL FOR DATA

Canada and Japan would like to encourage all Codex members, whether or not they are participating in the eWG, to submit all available data on levels of DON and acetylated-DON derivatives, and information on the relevant analytical methods for DON and acetylated-DON derivatives in cereal grains. Data can be submitted by e-mail to bcs-bipc@hc-sc.gc.ca by September 27, 2013

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid (PA): The Netherlands invites Codex members to participate in an eWG on the development of a Code of Practice (COP) for weed control and to prevent and reduce contamination in food and feed by Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid (PA). The participants of the electronic working group established to prepare a revised proposal for consideration at the 7th Session of the CCCF and listed in Appendix I of CX/CF 13/7/12 are automatically members of the new electronic working group (unless explicitly requested to no longer be a member of the electronic working group). Codex members and observer organizations interested in joining this eWG should be registered by your national Codex Contact Point using the on-line registration system http://codexmeetingmanager.com/by August 31.

Committee on Import & Export Certification & Inspection Systems (CCFICS): The United States invites Codex Members and Observers to participate in an eWG to consider a proposal for new work on revising the Codex Principles and Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Safety Emergency Situations (CAC/GL 19-1995) based on an original proposal from the International Dairy Federation and subsequent development of the proposal by the United States and others as presented in the Discussion Paper presented to CCFICS in 2013. The Discussion Paper proposed that the revision would take into account the following aspects: a) the roles and responsibilities of the various parties/stakeholders involved in food safety emergency situations; b) the processes involved in responding to a food safety emergency situation(s); and, c) communications associated with food safety emergency situations. Countries and organizations interested in participating should provide the name, official title, and e-mail address of their representatives by September 15, 2013,to the U.S. Codex Contact Point at USCodex@fsis.usda.gov.

Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) invites Codex Members and Observers to participate in an eWG on the revision of the Classification for Food and Feed for (1) the development of new commodity groups; and (2) further elaboration of Table 2 on Selection and Examples of Representative Commodities of the Principles and Guidance for the Selection of Representative Commodities for the Extrapolation of Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides for Commodity Groups in correspondence with the revision of the Classification in particular as per the vegetable groups. Nominations of Codex members and observers who wish to join the EWG should be endorsed by the Codex Contact Point of the member country or by the recognized international organization having granted observer status with the Codex Alimentarius Commission (see the website for the address of the CCPs/I[N]GOS). Please send your details to the focal point as indicated below with a copy to the Codex Secretariat not later than August 31.

Committee on Fresh Fruits & Vegetables invites Codex Members and Observers to participate in an eWG, led by Colombia, to discuss issues, especially on sizing by weight and count, associated with the proposed draft Codex Standard for Golden Passion Fruit. Nominations from Codex members and observers should come through the Codex Contact Point or international organizations having granted observer status with Codex, and those nominations should be sent by August 31 to bolarte@minsalud.gov.co.

Committee on North America and South West Pacific (NASWP) invites Codex Members and Observers to participate in an eWG, led by Toga, to develop a draft regional Standard for fermented noni juice. Codex Members and Observers interested in participating in this work should provide the name, organization, contact details and email address of their representatives to Tonga Codex Contact point codexoffice.tonga@mafff.gov to and the chair of EWG (mafsoils@kalianet.to), no later than August 31, 2013.

DATA CALL

Codex Member States and Observer organizations are encouraged to submit validated analytical methods and standard operating procedures/protocols for veterinary drug residues and related contaminants (such as pesticides in foods) of relevance to Codex on the basis of relevant national laboratories/regulatory organizations. Please use official.mail@iaea.org to submit a method, with a clear indication in the subject line that the message is in relation to methods of analysis. The Joint FAO/IAEA Division, supported by the Codex Secretariat and members of the Codex Committee on Veterinary Drugs in Foods, publishes analytical methods for residues of veterinary drugs (and pesticides) through the Food Contaminant and Residue Information System (FCRIS) database hosted by the IAEA.

The International Workshop on Feed Risk Assessment – Chemical Safety will take place in Utrecht, The Netherlands on September 30 to October 1, 2013. The workshop is organized by the Government of The Netherlands, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The workshop aims to explore the state of art in methods and tools for the risk assessment of chemicals in feed for farmed animals, with a focus on possible risks for the consumers of the animal products and for animal health and welfare. It includes scientific topics like composition of feed, animal exposure assessment, modeling of transfer from feed to edible products, and human/consumer safety; the program also explores the regulatory contexts of feed risk assessment activities. Participants will deal with feed risk assessment issues in interactive case studies and discuss possibilities for further development of the available knowledge and tools. The workshop is aimed at risk assessors and other technical experts dealing with feed, but is also suitable for feed risk managers and other parties involved in the feed sector. For more information is available at www.rivm.nl/feedriskassessment.